How DSLR Cameras are Changing Journalism

DSLR Journalism

Nick Friend

ybx845@mocs.utc.edu

Click Here To Listen!!!

Journalism’s main concern is getting information to the public as fast as possible.  Recently, many digital product companies have been manufacturing digital single-lens reflex (DSLR) cameras that not only take stunning pictures, but now offer the ability to take high definition (HD) video.

Companies like Canon, Nikon, Pentax, and many other digital optical manufacturers have seized the moment with regards to HD in their DSLR products.

In fact, many journalists have chosen the DSLR range of cameras for their reporting because of the portability and the versatility.

“It’s more portable than a full on video camera,” according to Andrew Page, a Fayetteville, TN, senior, “And it gives roughly the same quality of video.”

Video DSLR cameras are not without their faults, though.  Since these sort of cameras have dual capabilities between video and still photography, journalists have a slightly more involved job at hand.

Philip Luckey, a freelance professional video editor, thinks that they have their place, but it’s important to know where that place is.

“Having to do double duty can start to encroach on what you’re doing,” Luckey said.

Though DSLR cameras are highly capable, their technology is still relatively new and as a result have some setbacks.

“If I went to Wal-Mart and bought a $300 camcorder and a 60 min. DV tape,” said Luckey, “I could film for an hour. With the DSLR’s you put in an 8 gigabyte card and you can only record for 15 minutes.”

There’s no telling what the future of DSLR cameras holds.

Phony Hollywood producer gets 4 years in prison

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press.

‘The Social Network’ wins Golden Globe for best movie drama

By Lindsay Cline

lindsay-cline@mocs.utc.edu

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. (AP) — ‘The Social Network’ wins Golden Globe for best movie drama.

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press

My World in HD

A  closer look into the ever changing and always evolving world of technology in motion pictures and still photography.

By Benji Aird

Benji-Aird@utc.edu

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (UTC/The Loop)-Whether you shoot with the Nikon D90, Canon 7D, 5D,  or anything else, HD-DSLRs are now taking over a large segment of the video-journalism and motion picture markets. All are not really made to shoot video, but with various adapters and add-ons you can make it work and get results not possible in the past.

Recently I shot two projects with the Nikon D90 and was thinking about the differences between using the D90 and a “regular” video camera.

Bokeh

Bokeh describes the rendition of out-of-focus points of light. Bokeh is different from sharpness. Sharpness is what happens at the point of best focus. Bokeh is what happens away from the point of best focus.Bokeh describes the appearance, or “feel,” of out-of-focus areas. Bokeh is not how far something is out-of-focus, bokeh is the character of whatever blur is there.

The most obvious difference is the wonderful limited depth of field (DOF/Bokeh) that is made possible by the large sensors and 35mm still lenses.

A welcome change from the everything-in-focus, 3-chip smaller sensor video cameras.

At minimum, you’ll need some sort of viewfinder to use the LCD screen in the back of the camera. I tethered to a 17inch monitor for the last project. There’s really no way to use the camera without a viewfinder for professional results. This is a must.

The on-board sound in any HD-DSLR is abysmal at best. You can either record using the BeachTek DXA-5D, or use an external recording device such as the Zoom H4 and sync everything up in Final Cut Pro with Pluraleyes, an incredible program from Singular Software that saves many frustrating hours of trying to sync sound.

One last item is a Vari-ND filter. This variable neutral density enables you to shoot at f2.8 in daylight and maintain that limited DOF look and feel. I use one from Singh-Ray.

Video

The following clip was from the Thanksgiving holiday 2010:

Shooting a low-lit environment may not be the best of conditions to shoot a video, however with 50mm prime lens like the Carl Zeiss I rented from Lensrentals.com helps a lot. That particular lens had a beautiful bokeh. It was a totally manually operated focus ring which took some getting use to. I know many young photographers are custom to automatic everything!! Using this lens really forced me to take my time when composing the shot.

Photography

The other project brought me to up and coming recording music artist Richard Torregano:

In the behind the scenes footage from Chad B.’s new club banger “Hit It” you can clearly see the skeleton crew that shoots the video using Digital SLR’s.

After Torregano’s session Blake Hampton of Attention2Detail and I collaborated on a few projects.

Some time in the not too distant future I would like to hit the lottery. I am speaking it into the universe!! I would make the world a better place, visually that is. SO, you come across one of these from a “Street Vendor” get in contact with me.

Gangs, Drug and Violence all Reside In The City Of God : Movies You Need To See

City of God is a beautifully gritty crime thriller that should not be missed, it is dark compelling and exciting to watch. It leaves the viewer satisfied yet wanting to see more of the lives of those living in the City of God.

By: Justin Dee

justin-dee@utc.edu

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (UTC/The Loop) — Fernando Meirelles’ and Kátia Lund’s 2002 film  City of God chronicles the lives of young men as the grow up in the Cidade de Deus suburb of Rio de Janeiro Brazil during the 1960′s, 1970′s and 1980′s.

• Release Date: August 30, 2002
• Staring :Alexandre Rodrigues, Leandro Firmino, Phellipe Haagensen, Douglas Silva, Jonathan Haagensen, Matheus Nachtergaele and Seu Jorge
• Budget: $8.5 million
• Gross Revenue: $30,641,770

Centered around  Rocket and Lil Ze, the film follows these y0ung men as they grown up in the slums of Rio and interact with their friends, enemies, and make the choices  that will impact their lives forever, leading one to a life of crime and the other into the world of journalism.

Based on Paulo Lins 1997 autobiographical novel the film is a beautiful whirlwind of life, love, violence and death as experienced in the state formed suburb of Rio De , Brazil.

The City of God community was formed in 1960 in an attempt to removed shanty towns and the poor who inhabited them from the inner city by the state government of Guanabara, Brazil.

In his 2003 review Roger Ebert wrote that City of God shares comparison with Martin Scorsese’s Goodfellas.

The film has been compared with Scorsese’s Goodfellas and it deserves the comparison. Scorsese’s film began with a narrator who said that for as long as he could remember he wanted to be a gangster. The narrator of this film seems to have had no other choice.

He also wrote that the film has some parallels to Scorsese’s Gangs of New York saying,

In both films, there are really two cities: the city of the employed and secure, who are served by law and municipal services, and the city of the castaways, whose alliances are born of opportunity and desperation. Those who live beneath rarely have their stories told.

UTC student Steven Read said, while very reminiscent of American gangster/ coming of age movies like Menace II Society and Goodfellas, (This film) setting in Brazil and it socio-economic conditions makes it something wholly original and slightly more disturbing.

The film’s ensemble cast churns out beautiful performances normally seen from seasoned actors. However the  majority of the cast had never acted before this film and are in fact from the local area where the film was shot. One of the few seasoned actors in the film is Matheus Nachtergaele who portrays Carrot and although his character is important it is very minor compared to the other characters. The stand out performance is that Leandro Firmino in the role of Lil Ze.

Lil Ze is a violent, power hungry psychopath but Firmino’s performance allows the viewer to understand that all of the character’s hate and anger comes form a place of pain and survival.

City of God was nominated for  four Academy Awards including best cinematography and it is very clear why. In one scene that depicts the death of  a major character is as beautiful as it is sad.

The film was so successful the that it spawned a television series and a 2007 sequel that both share the title City of Men. The television series, which ran for four seasons from 2002 to 2005 in Brazil, was shown on the Sundance cable network here in the U.S.

City of God is currently available on DVD.

Truth, Love, and Harry Potter

Harry Potter is a worldwide phenomenon that has captured the hearts of children and adults alike. Its influence will resound in the art, music, and literature that is produced by fans because of the great love inspired by this series.

By: Lauren Turner

Email: TurnerLBT90@yahoo.com

Chattanooga, TN(UTC/The Loop)-Do you believe in magic? That is a question that this famous book series has asked everyone that reads it. But not in an overt, trying to make small children turn to the occult, sort of way. Many have accused J. K. Rowling of that very thing, of course my guess is that none of those people have cracked one page of Harry Potter.

The beauty of Harry Potter is that it integrates the fight between good and evil, one of the most basic story lines, into a coming of age tale that preaches the wonders of love, forgiveness, and even delves into the mysteries of teenage hormones. All of this while remaining both hilarious and terrifying. People that read Harry Potter are shown that the world is a wonderful place full of amazing opportunities, but it is also dark and at times evil.

Harry Potter surfaced on the list of banned books for many schools and stores, and some churches have taken it upon themselves to have book burnings. One pastor in New Mexico, who admitted that he had not read the series stated, ”Behind that innocent face is the power of satanic darkness,” he said. “Harry Potter is the devil and he is destroying people.”

At InfoPlease they agree that the series has been demonized, “Ever since becoming popular, the Harry Potter series has been among the most frequently challenged books, as measured by the American Library Association. While the series has been welcomed by many parents and teachers for getting children interested in reading, not to mention being a good story, others feel that the series presents dangerous ideas and attitudes that are bad for readers.”

Emily Openshaw, a junior at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, had this to say about Harry Potter. “Harry Potter means the world to me, I grew up with him and as I’ve grown he has grown. So basically Harry Potter is my childhood. And growing up with it and seeing it develop into what it is today has been wonderful. . . and magical.”

And the generation that is in college right now really is the Potter generation. We grew up with the series year by year. And aging along with the characters gave a very unique point of view to some readers, showing them that it doesn’t matter how old you are because you can do great things at any age.

One of the most unique aspects of Harry Potter is what it inspires its readers to do. There have been hundreds of children and adults who have started bands in a genre called Wizard Wrock, and these people would normally never have had the guts or opportunity to perform their music in front of live audiences and sell in on the internet. Fanfiction is also a huge hobby of many Potter fans, where they can rewrite the books or start their own stories completely with Potter characters. Not to mention all the people it has turned on to reading. Some who have never been interested in books before are now great readers all because of Harry Potter.

Looking back the author has much to say about the world. J. K. Rowling writes about loss, poverty, depression, and other hardships because she has lived through them. The series is not a patch of daisies, anyone who has read about dementors (soul-sucking and scabbed creatures that feed on fear) or Umbridge (a teacher who punishes children by having them cut words into their own hands) could attest to that.

Chris Garmon, a UTC junior, affirmed that Harry Potter is a great thing for kids to have in their lives. “Harry Potter was a fantastical childhood escape, and is still an inspirational phenomenon.”

The magic of Harry Potter comes with the power of love, truth, and friendship winning over all else. This theme repeats itself throughout the series, showing its readers that fighting for good is always most important in life.

And that is why so many have been drawn into the world that Rowling spent so much time creating, because we want a hero. We want there to be someone that has to sacrifice and also have the power for mercy and love. We generally want to be that hero, and reading Harry Potter opens up that possibility.

Potter fans have created an entire world out there where they can interact with each other on the internet through various popular sites like Mugglenet, The Leaky Cauldron, and The Harry Potter Lexicon.  Fans can also get together at  conventions to discuss the books and at the movie premiers where everyone gets to show their colors to the world.

Another UTC junior Kara Livingston shows great respect for Harry Potter. “Harry Potter was what kept me going when I was younger. It inspired me, it engulfed my imagination and it became a part of me. When I felt like I had nothing, I had Harry Potter. As crazy as it sounds I aspired to be like each character; intelligent like Hermione, loyal like Ron, and brave like Harry. They helped to make me the person I am today and I know that no matter how old I am, I will always have Harry Potter.”

Now the series is over, we have reached the stop on this wonderful journey. We have seen Harry discover magic and the wizarding world, Hermione outsmart even the most intelligent of adults, and Ron has made us laugh in desperate situations and found his own strengths. These characters and so many more are the role models we should all want for this generation and generations to come. Children who learn to find themselves through helping others and truly being brave and self-sacrificing.

As fans go to watch Part One of The Deathly Hallows, there is an excitement and also a certain amount of sadness. This is almost the end of Harry Potter in the mainstream after a lifetime of love for these characters. But there will always be people who love the series and want to discuss the literary importance, not to mention the societal importance, of these books that leaped boundaries and brought tears to readers eyes.

© 2000–2010 Pearson Education

Wikipedia®

© 2006 Warner Bros. Ent.

© 2000 – 2010  The Harry Potter Lexicon

Anime Comes to life in DC

Fans gathered in Washington DC to share their love for Anime!

By: Corey Honeycutt

evenstar1@bellsouth.net

CHATTANOOGA/Tenn.(UTC/LOOP)–  The Hyatt Regency in Crystal City Alrington, VA. played host to one of many Japanese animation conventions on the weekend of November 12-14th.

Anime USA was started by fans in 1999 and became a non profit educational organization in 2004. It’s slogan “Of Otaku, By Otaku and For Otaku has held true throughout its years.

It started off as most conventions with a few hundred people. It now brings in around 5,000 fans a year to the Crystal City Hyatt Regency.

Fans ranging in all ages show up dressed as their favorite characters, from animes and games ranging from Pokemon and Final Fantasy to more obscure titles such as 07 Ghost.

This form of dressing up is called cosplay or “costume play.” It originated in Japan, but has been gaining more and more popularity here in the U.S.

Fans can also put together skits and compete against each other for the title of Best in Show in the masquerade which is the highlight of most conventions and draws the biggest crowds.

Shanna Labriola potrayed the character Van from the series Escaflowne. Her costume consisted of hand made wings from chicken wire, felt and feathers. Overall her outfit took her 25 hours to make.

“My cousin took me to a convention and that’s how I got started into cosplaying.”

The convention played host to not only the fans to but to many guests who work in the industry such as voice actors, artists, directors and professional costumers.

This year’s guests were voice actors Brina Palencia, Cristina Vee, Mary Elizabeth McGlynn, Patrick Seitz and Christopher Sabat. Megan Murphy, Heidi Arnold and Monica Gallagher are a few of the artists guest and Clockwork Dolls, Promise Sisters and Echostream were the bands.

Brina Palencia recently landed the main role of Ciel Phantomhive in the anime Black Butler(Kuroshitsuji).  Black Butler is an anime gaining popularity over here in the US and already has a big fan base. She has voiced small and large roles in such popular animes as Fullmetal Alchemist, Nabari no Ou, Darker Than Black and XXXholic.

“My favorite role has to be Natsuki in Summer Wars, because she is raised by her grandmother and I was raised by my grandmother. It is probably the most genuine acting I’ve ever done.”

Even though she has voiced main characters in the past when asked how she felt about the part of Ciel she said she was terrified.

“It’s really exciting, but I’m so terrified about it. I feel I worked very hard on the part and researched the accent. I’m proud of the work I did, I’m just hoping the fans like it. ”

Brina Palencia just finished a web series called Throwingstones on top of her other voice acting roles.

“It’s sort of a Breakfast Club meets horror movie.”

AUSA is just one of many conventions dedicated to anime, games and manga. There are enough conventions to go to one every weekend. They range from smaller ones with only to a few hundred people, to over 50,000 people.

So if you feel that Halloween is to short a time to dress up, or have a knack for creating costumes and are an anime or gaming fan, there are plenty of conventions to choose from.

Other conventions are listed below that can be attended throughout the year in many different states.

Otakon

Katsucon

Connooga

Chattacon

Anime Weekend Atlanta

“The Social Network,” “Catfish” offer distinct looks at Facebook

By Jonathan Higdon
Jonathan-Higdon@mocs.utc.edu

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (UTC/The Loop) — It has become the college student routine. Wake up. Check Facebook. Go to class. Check Facebook. Eat Lunch. Check Facebook. You get the idea. A modern Animal House would look completely different from what John Belushi offered more than 30 years ago. So what’s a filmmaker to do? Make a movie about Facebook, of course! Two great films about the social networking site have been released recently, offering two very different views on what has become a cultural phenomenon.

The Social Network, from The West Wing creator Aaron Sorkin, gives a slightly fictionalized take on the origins of Facebook. In the film, Facebook creator Mark Zuckerberg (Jesse Eisenberg—Adventureland, Zombieland) is portrayed as the egotistical CEO Silicon Valley legend has made him out to be. Zuckerberg himself has since refuted the implications the film makes about his character, but Eisenberg truly steals the show with his superb acting.

Besides delivering an (albeit somewhat distorted) look into the origins of Facebook, The Social Network offers one of the first mainstream success stories set in the computer science industry. Students have already said they are inspired by what they saw in the film, and have expressed an interest in computer programming because of Zuckerberg’s success with Facebook. Zuckerberg has already changed the present with his creation; now it appears he will be indirectly changing the future, as well.

Whereas The Social Network lauds Facebook by immortalizing its place in today’s culture, Catfish takes a different approach. This documentary follows Yaniv Schulman, a New York photographer who begins a relationship with a family after receiving a painting from the family’s eight-year-old daughter. When Schulman travels to visit the family in person and learns that they aren’t exactly as they advertised online, he learns an important lesson which he passes on to the audience.

The movie serves as a warning to the threats posed by the socialization of the Internet. Social networking sites like Facebook can be an important tool in society, however they also have a darker side. Catfish provides a glimpse into the real story of a man who was a victim of the easy anonymity of the Internet, but also warns on the dangers of easily accessible information made available on Facebook.

Although Catfish and The Social Network explore two completely different sides of Facebook, it is safe to say that the film industry is ready to explore this new branch of social culture. Hopefully impressionable audiences will not only be inspired by Zuckerberg in The Social Network, but will also heed the warnings laid out in Catfish and deliver us into a new, better age of social networking.

A Rated R Movie that Lives Up to the Rating. Movies You Need to See: High Tension

This horror thriller puts the slash back in slasher film, taking the viewer on an adrenalin filled ride of death and mayhem that is rarely see in today’s overly watered down horror films.

By: Justin Dee

justin-dee@utc.edu

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (UTC/The Loop)For far too long studios have watered down horror movies in order to label the films PG 13 in an attempt to make more money. However, this 2003 French horror thriller from Alexandre Aja is one of the hardest R rated movies in the last decade.

• Release Date: June 18, 2003
• Staring :Cécile de France, Maïwenn Le Besco, Philippe Nahon
• Budget: €2,200,000
• Gross Revenue: $6,291,958

High Tension centers around two college friends Marie (Cécile de France) and Alex (Maïwenn Le Besco) who decided to spend the weekend with Alex’s parents in their country home. Mayhem ensues when an intruder kills Alex’s family and takes her hostage, living Marie to save her friend from this homicidal maniac.

Ethan Alter, of Film Journal International, called High Tension refreshing and wrote in his 2003 review that the film takes full advantage of the R rating.

Alter went on to write “What really gets the audience involved are the tense moments before the blood starts to fly. And, as the title implies, High Tension is filled with those sorts of beats. In its best moments, the film is reminiscent of such seminal slasher pictures as The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and The Hills Have Eyes .”

UTC student, Steven Redd, described High Tension as an exceptional slasher film saying ,” Its also interesting to see how our crazy, inbred, redneck fantasy has influenced the horror genre internationally.”

The acting in High Tension is better than most films of slasher film genre. Maïwenn Le Besco and Philippe Nahon do very good jobs with the material, but the film rests on the performance of Cécile de France. The fear, forcefulness and determination adds to the tension in the film title and makes the viewer care about the victims and their situation.

The films ending has been a source of contention for fans and critics alike. Love the ending or hate it you’ll enjoy the ride getting there.

High Tension served as director Alexandre Aja catapult into Hollywood. After High Tension Aja was taped to direct 2006′s Hills Have Eyes remake, 2008′s Mirrors starring Kiefer Sutherland, and 2010′s Piranha 3D.

High Tension is currently available on DVD.

The Digital Shootout: Does size really matter?

by Benji Aird

Benji-Aird@utc.edu

The ‘Haves’ and the ‘Have Nots’ in the digital single lens reflect camera industry makes a big difference, size matters! Laying the smack-down on full-framed digital slr’s are the medium-format digital slr’s. Don’t let the distinction in the title, medium, fool you. Medium formats’ capture images starting out with 30 mega pixels. We see the tip of the ice berg in a short comparison between the full and medium framed cameras.

Chattanooga, Tenn(UTC/TheLoop) — On set at a photo shoot in between the firing of  strobe lights, hair-stylist crofting hair, make-up artist reapplying foundation, and wardrobe repositioning garments, photographers patiently wait to capture a single image. I think this one of the greatest times in history to be a photographer. The evolution of the camera has taken leaps and bounds in every decade.

In my not so distant past, I began shooting with a Kodax 110. The number ’110′ refers to the size of film measuring not quite 111 mm. Fast forward a few years to Christmas 1998 when I received a 35mm automatic camera. The simple point-and-shoot helped me see, and develop an artistic eye. Now, I have a Digital SLR that allows me to instantly see what I photographed! Oh how I am easily amused.

Some pro-amateurs and professional photographers alike use full frame digital SLR. To get you up to speed click here to read what a full-frame digital SLR is all about. Just when I thought it could not get any better…IT DOES! The lion has entered the den with a presence that commands respect, the medium format digital SLR. Medium format brands include Mamiya, Hassleblad, Hola, and others. These cameras are  fashion’s equivalence  to Gucci, Fendi, Prada, and Chanel.

In digital, medium format is a very expensive option, with typical brand new all-digital medium format cameras retailing for $10,000 (Mamiya ZD) to $32,000 (Hasselblad H3D) in 2008, though, older and used equipment can be substantially cheaper.

Celebrity photographer Derek Blanks recently shot with a Hasselblad medium-format digital SLR in a shoot on-location in New York. Derek said, “Ok guys, I think I am in love with this new camera! The Hasselblad! Check out my beauty shots…”

Digital medium format SLR’s shoot at an astronomical 30 to 60+ mega-pixels. Lets put this into perspective:

• Camera phone at best is 5MP-8MP.
• Average point-and-shoot digital camera for adventures in the club is 10MP-12MP.
• Canon T2i Digital SLR is 18MP.

The Fuji most conservative medium format camera starts at 30MP!!!! If your head is about to explode, this sensation is perfectly normal. As Derek would say “That’s dope.”

I get goose bumps looking at a side-by-side comparison of the full-frame and medium format.

Does size really matter? Well, thats relative to your level of photography. If you have the money to spare and really, really, I do mean really want to go all out you can rent a medium-format from LensRentals.com as well as other equipment to keep your shutter-finger happy.

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